View full sizeIn this 2011 Press-Register file photo, tattoo artist Ben Rusher fills in the tattoo of a customer at The Tattoo Zone in Mobile, Ala. The city of Orange Beach is looking at tightening its ordinance restricting where tattoo parlors, pawn shops and check-cashing business can do business in the city. "We are family friendly," Mayor Tony Kennon said of the city, "and we don'ÂÂt want to do or allow anyone else to do anything that would damage that image."

ORANGE BEACH, Alabama -- The City Council approved placing a 6-month moratorium on issuing business licenses for tattoo parlors, pawn shops and check-cashing businesses on Tuesday night to give officials time to hash out ways to further limit those establishments from opening in the beach community.

The city’s goal is to toughen its 2-year-old ordinance restricting those businesses from opening within 500 feet of schools, parks and residential areas, and setting a distance criteria for similar establishments, such as two tattoo parlors, to not be within 5,000 feet of each other.

Mayor Tony Kennon said it boils down to protecting the city’s family-friendly image.

“We just want to re-evaluate where we are,” Kennon said in a phone interview prior to the council meeting, “and is there a direction that we can take to better protect the image of who the city of Orange Beach is, which is a family-friendly destination resort and a family-friendly community. That’s our brand. That’s our niche in the market.”

&amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://polldaddy.com/poll/6835178/"&amp;amp;amp;gt;Do you support restrictions on tattoo parlors, pawn shops and check-cashing business in Orange Beach and Gulf Shores?&amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;gt;

Orange Beach Community Development Director Kit Alexander said there will likely be three main zoning changes to the ordinance. It could be increasing the distance that tattoo parlors, pawn shops and check-cashing businesses can open near residential areas, increasing the distance between similar establishments and limiting the zoning districts where they can open.

The next step in the process is for the Zoning Text Amendment Committee, which is made up of four planning commissioners and city staff, to meet in the first week of February, Alexander said.

“We’ll sit and talk about what we want bring to the planning commission,” Alexander said.

The effort should take a few months as the committee’s suggestions will go to the planning board for review and then a recommendation will be made to the City Council that will ultimately vote on the measure after receiving public input.

Kennon said residents know that protecting the city’s image is the “No. 1 priority” for the mayor and council.

“We are family friendly and we don’t want to do or allow anyone else to do anything that would damage that image,” Kennon said.